Bullet Review: Make: Pi Enclosure

In a previous post, I opened up the Maker Shed Raspberry Pi Starter Kit and shared some images to highlight the components of that kit. One of the bags included in this kit that I choose not to delve into was the Make: Pi Enclosure. I left this one, with the hint of a further look, alone.

Today I present a Bullet Review of this Raspberry Pi case and provide a link to some images that better highlight the case and the experience of assembly. You will find all that and more after a click of the link below.

Create an ssh connection from your Mac to a headless, out-of-the box, Raspberry Pi

You finally receive that Raspberry Pi you’ve been waiting for only to find that you don’t have an extra keyboard, mouse or monitor laying around. Yeah, you should have taken care of that prior to the purchase (or maybe you did and those items are on their way in a separate order), but does that mean you can’t fiddle with your new Raspberry Pi? Of course not. While waiting on the other devices, you can have a ton of fun learning about the new device while at the same time, learning a bit about Linux and remote connections.

“Remote connection you ask?” Yep! You can run the Raspberry Pi headless. “Headless. What’s that? Something out of a zombie show?” Uh, no. Find out more about “headless mode” after the break and then read my step-by-step guide on how to setup this mode using a Mac and OS X. Warning, Terminal; commands ahead.

In a pinch, this AppleTV iPad mini configuration works…

Today I found myself in my office without my trusty 13” MacBook Air. Long story, but it was just one of those instances where my MacBook ended up in a bag in my car, while I found myself in my office. My car was parked in the backend of our parking lot due to an event and I had a meeting to prepare for that didn't allow time to hike back out there. I did have my iPad mini. The mini is great for quick messages, but I tend to balk when I consider its use for more serious work.

 

When I need to get real work done, I must have a full size keyboard. I’ve shared numerous times that I have fallen in love with my new Logitech solar-powered bluetooth keyboard, but today I added a few more wireless components to make an incredibly useful work environment in the absence of my trusty MacBook Air. After the break below, I’ll share this configuration.

 

Bullet Review: Apple EarPods

It finally happened. My six year old JBL sport headphones died. I really enjoyed using this old set of headphones during my runs; however a few days ago I found that the wire leading to the left ear bud had a short. One that I could not fix easily.

So I decided to give the new Apple EarPods a shot. Reviews have been pretty good and I was intrigued by the new design. I found them at a bit of a discount at Amazon and put my Amazon Prime membership to use. Within a couple of days, the EarPods arrived in my mailbox. Find out my thoughts, in bullet form, on Apple's redesign of their ubiquitous headset after hitting the link below.

And in the “we’ve got yet another new look” department…

As I’ve said many a time, I’ve never been thrilled with the look for the site. Today I’m unveiling yet another new look and I have to say, I think I’ll be sticking with this one for awhile. This has been a work in progress for quite some time and I finally had a template complete enough that I felt I could roll it out and later work on the “nit-noid” stuff. For now, check out the image below and after hitting the link, find out what new features are included.

Using the Mac’s Internet Sharing feature

I often use the Internet sharing feature on a Mac to either create/extend a network from an Ethernet connection via Wi-Fi or, as has been the case lately, extend the Wi-Fi connection using the Ethernet connection to a device that needs Internet/network access. I currently use this setup to connect a Raspberry Pi to my home network.

Internet sharing doesn’t work out of the box. You need to know the secret, and very simple, sauce. Given that I use this ubiquitous Mac feature regularly, I thought a post was in order. This post will also serve as a handy reference for several future posts I have in the works.

So after the click below, learn how to connect a device with an Ethernet connection to a Mac to provide tethered network access to the device.

Maker Shed Raspberry Pi Starter Kit Unboxing

On the 14th of March 2013, which just so happened to be Pi Day, I decided to take the plunge, unleash my Dave Ramsey enforced “blow money budget” and purchase a Raspberry Pi microcontroller. I didn’t settle for just just the $35 model B. Oh no, that would be too easy, too inexpensive and too boring. After a bit of research, I decided to settle on the Maker Shed Raspberry Pi Starter Kit. I chose the Maker Shed version for several reasons:

• I’m a Make: magazine subscriber (have them all since numero uno)
• I’ve added several Make: books to my library
• I’ve purchased several Maker Shed Arduino kits
• I’ve purchased several Maker Shed Electronics Components kits
• This kit includes the “Getting Started with Raspberry Pi” book
• This kit includes various cables and a power supply needed to get started
• The kit includes many additional electronic components to allow me to experiment with physical computing and Arduino like capabilities
• I just like Make: and what they do!

I grew up in the time when Heath Kits were sold. I never had the money to purchase a kit but drooled over the catalog whenever I could get my hands on one. And since I could’t afford a kit, my parents often found things taken apart around the house because I wanted to see what made them tick. Yep, never grew out of that one. Still cracking things open. So the Raspberry Pi is a natural.

 

I’m also fascinated that this little “computer on a board” is designed to bring back the novelty of the classic computer days – the days when you saved a few hundred bucks, ordered or purchased from your local retailer, opened the box, plugged the computer into the wall, attached a television, turned them both on and then watched the cursor blink on the screen while you considered the many programs you could create to make this new electronic device do something. I could go into a long nostalgic story here, but will save that for a later blog post. Let’s get back to the task at hand.

 

Today, I took some time to break open the box. The wait for this box was two weeks. Add three more days because I simply didn’t have the time to open it (work has a way of killing your free time). Like a kid in a candy store this morning, I broke out the utility knife and got started. Along the way, I decided to take several pictures of the unboxing. No this isn’t the same level of excitement you see in unboxing blog posts of new Apple products, but you know, in many ways, it was more fulfilling. When you open an Apple product, you know you will begin using it immediately. Unboxing the Raspberry Pi Starter Kit returned me to a day I haven’t had in some time. Now that I have this thing. What can I make it do? The ideas are flowing and I can’t wait to get started.

 

After a click of the link below, you will find all the photos from my unboxing.

 

Alfred 2 Workflow: Apple Calendar Default View Days

{NOTE: This is an Alfred 2 workflow and will not work with Alfred 1. Check out my Alfred Extensions/Workflows page for an Alfred 1 extension.}

This Alfred 2 workflow is an update to an earlier Alfred 1 Extension. The default view in the Apple Calendar is seven days; however, I sometimes like to see ten to fourteen days ahead and I don’t want to do that in the constricted monthly view. I’ve included the top of my calendar below to give you an example of a ten day view.

A caveat. First, I believe this will only work with Apple Calendar for Mountain Lion or version 6.0 or greater. I have not tested on older versions. If you find it does work, please leave a comment below. After the link below, you can learn how to download and use the workflow. It’s dead simple and very useful.

Remove Duplicate Contextual Menu Items Alfred Extension updated to Workflow

In an earlier post, I wrote about an Alfred 1.0 extension I created to remove the duplicate contextual menu items that appear when you right-click on a file (demonstrated in the figure to the right that also serves as the workflow icon). This is a common issue for those of us who upgrade or try out software on a regular basis. Since the release of that extension, Alfred 2 has been released.

I took some time this weekend to update the extension to an Alfred 2.0 workflow. It was a simple process once the Alfred developers provided the secret sauce via a tweet to help me through a “I should have thought of that” moment.

@stevencombs simply use the “Run Script” action instead of “Terminal Command” :)
— Alfred App (@alfredapp) March 23, 2013

After the break below, you will find the instructions needed to install and use the workflow. You can also find a download link using the Alfred Extensions menu item above.

Pair a single bluetooth keyboard to three devices and never buy another battery

I’m enamored with a keyboard. That may not be a word you usually associate with a keyboard, but it is a true statement. Not because this keyboard has the best feel (this honor belongs to an old IBM keyboard with mechanical keys that made a very nice “clicky-click” as I typed). Not because this keyboard is wireless (those are pretty common nowadays). Not even because it is the most attractive keyboard (that honor goes to an Apple keyboard).

I am enamored because this new keyboard allows me to pair three separate bluetooth devices and then quickly switch between them with a simple button press and nary a battery purchase. Intrigued to find out what keyboard has garnered my attention? Find out after the break below.

Repost: A productivity primer for higher education administrators

{This is a repost from my higher ed web site. I’m including it on Doc’s Tech Notes because the presentation shares the tools and links, most information technology tools, that I use or find useful to make my day more productive and efficient. Seemed like a perfect fit for this site as well.}

We conduct cabinet meetings on our campus each Monday. Our Chancellor develops the agenda and leads these discussions between our regional academic administrators. Typically these meetings are a simple sharing of information between our team leaders. On occasion we invite college and community leaders to meet with the team to understand important initiatives.

A unique twist is that once a month, the Chancellor asks a cabinet member to provide a professional development activity. The cabinet member does not have to personally conduct the activity. They can farm it out to someone on their team or bring in someone from the community. This month, the task falls to me.

While I have a large number of faculty on our Academic Affairs team that I can ask to lead a session, given that I am new to the cabinet, I felt it appropriate that I take my turn at bat. Folks who know me can probably predict the topic of my presentation (or have read the title of this post). I have this odd obsession. I constantly refine my productivity workflow. I’ve gone through a countless number of tools and processes to find a system that works for me in my given environment.

During my presentation I share some tools to get my fellow administrators thinking about their own productivity workflow. There is not a one-size fits all solution. Everyone has their own specific needs. My presentation provides some simple and advanced tools for consideration. It’s an eclectic mix. You can check out my slides and links to all the tools I mention after the break below.

Alfred Extension: Apple Calendar Default View Days

{NOTE: This is an Alfred 1 extension and will not work with Alfred 2. Check out my Alfred Extensions/Workflows page for an update.} A while back I found a terminal command that modifies the default number of days Apple Calendar will display in the week view. The default is seven; however, I sometimes like to see ten to fourteen days ahead and I don’t want to do that in the constricted monthly view. I’ve included the top of my calendar below to give you an example of a ten day view.

The terminal command allows me to modify this on a regular basis. But who can remember the cryptic thing. On top of that, you need to load the Terminal app and restart Apple Calendar each time you make a modification. What’s a techie to do but turn to Alfred and automate the process. So after the link below, you can learn how to download and use the extension. It’s dead simple and very useful.

Source Code Pro is a wonderful Markdown font

While reviewing Markdown text editors for the iPad during my last post, I had occasion to update the Textastic app. Textastic was not the winner of my round-up; however, it was very close. You can read the review to find out why. Since I still find Textastic to be a capable editor, I keep it on my iPad.

During a recent update, Textastic included several new features (but sadly, not the ones I was hoping for). There was one little addition that enhanced my Markdown workflow not only on the iPad using Textastic, but also on my Mac. The inclusion of a single Adobe open source font called Source Code Pro. Learn more about this font after the click below.

I’ve found my iPad Markdown Editor!

For quite some time now, I’ve been trying to establish an iPad mini academic writing and blogging workflow. I have a workflow on the Mac that works well; however, I need to duplicate that one as closely as possible on the iPad mini. Doing so will provide anywhere access to my content and writing tools.

The main components of my workflow must include cloud storage and a good text editor that supports Markdown. My cloud storage of choice for text files is Dropbox. Okay, that was easy since almost every app out there supports Dropbox. The hard part is locating a worthy text editor.

There are many iOS apps in the App Store that claim to be the best text editor, and while some of them are probably great apps for the general public, very few of them embrace Markdown or more specifically, MultiMarkdown. If you are not familiar with Markdown, or its more powerful variant – MultiMarkdown, don’t worry; most of the population isn’t. After the break below I’ll provide a Markdown primer and reveal my iPad text editor of choice.

Alfred Reveal in Finder or Spotlight Show All in Finder not working?

Today I tried to use the Alfred Reveal in Finder option on my iMac to determine the location of a file and noticed nothing happened. A blank Alfred window would appear. Not good. I then checked Spotlight to see if I could use the Show All in Finder option for the same file. Nope, nothing there either. So off to Google I went.

I had to search many a page and many a message board to locate the fix. Just plug in this simple Terminal command or activate Alfred and enter > and then the line below.

sudo killall -KILL appleeventsd

Terminal will ask you for the administrator password. Enter it and hit return. Nothing will appear to happen, but when you try to use the Alfred Reveal in Finder or Spotlight Show All in Finder options,  they should now work.

This Terminal command kills the appleevetsd process. You can also kill this process using the Activity Monitor, as shown in the image, if you are more familiar with that tool. A quick search online tells me that killing this process can fix many a Finder issue including flaky software and slow shutdowns.

Hope that helps someone from having to search far and wide for the answer.

Doc finally has an e-mail address

Don’t know why this took so long for me to get to; however, you can now send email to:

doc@docstechnotes.com

Just use steven.combs@gmail.com. I've had some real issues with this address. 

Creative huh? Send away!

Top Notes page finally includes some top notes

If you are interested, you can find links to the top six notes from the archives here. I will evaluate site stats regularly for potential new inclusions. That's it for now. Hope everyone had a great weekend leading up to the holiday.

Choosing a low-cost 7 inch tablet - the HTML 5 edition

Ever since I created my first Hype HTML5 animation, I've been looking for a fun project to extend my knowledge of the software. Lately I've been writing a lot about 7 inch tablets and I thought I would create a simple HTML 5 animation/presentation that will serve as a tool to help consumers decide which low-cost 7 inch tablet to purchase. The tool was designed to provide a quick snapshot of the pros and cons of the Kindle Fire, Nexus 7 and iPad mini along with my recommendation on where to put your money when considering a 7" tablet.

While not a professional, nor complex HTML 5 project, it was a lot of fun to create and I learned quite a bit about Hype. There's much more to learn and I can't wait for the next project to come along. Even though this is really isn't a Hype review, I would highly recommend this tool for anyone trying to develop simple interactive HTML 5 presentations. It really isn't that hard anymore.

So without further ado, check it out after the link below.

Easily move multiple files from the OS X Finder to iCloud

I’ve recently acquired a new iPad mini. One of the applications I use on my Mac, and now on this new device, is iDraw. Not familiar with iDraw? Check it out both the Mac App Store and the iOS App Store. iDraw is a vector drawing program I use regularly for web and print. It was used to create the image on the right. I really like it and it has a very similar workflow to Pixelmator, my raster/imaging program of choice.

The problem though was that I created several iDraw documents on my Mac, not storing them on iCloud, and I now wanted to access them on my new iPad mini. I quickly found that there is no easy way to move multiple files from my Mac to iCloud. Or is there? Find out after hitting the link below.

iPad mini Unboxing

And I have the unboxing images to prove it. You can check it out at my Flickr iPad mini Unboxing.

Be sure to read the photo descriptions to learn about my first impressions.